So God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Exodus 2:24 NASB Remembered – American Christianity is unique in its stress on the victorious life, its expectation of rescue at any moment, its theology of personal salvation, its assumption of assured deliverance, and its spiritualization of Kingdom battles. In…
and there was evening and there was morning day one Genesis 1:5 (my translation) Evening/ Morning – Our concept of time was invented to serve the purposes of the British Rail System in 1847. Obviously, this “railway time” (as it was called) was needed to coordinate the management of the trains, but it did not…
Depart from evil and do good, so you will abide forever. Psalm 37:27 Abide Forever – If we read this verse from an evangelical perspective, we will be quite happy with the translation “abide forever.” That translation fits our conception of eternal life. But the Tanakh has almost nothing to say about a life of…
And God said, “Let luminaries be in the expanse of the heavens, to divide between the day and the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and for years. And let them be for luminaries in the expanse of the heavens, to give light on the earth. And it…
O give thanks to YHWH, for He is good; for His lovingkindness is everlasting. Psalm 107:1 Is Everlasting – How long will God’s hesed last? The psalmist answers, ki le-olam hasdo (for the very long time his lovingkindness). But olam is quite an unusual word. It doesn’t always mean a long time in the future. …
Be of good courage, and let your heart be strong, all you who hope in YHWH. Psalm 31:25 Hope – What is the justification for hope? If your worldview rests on the Greek platform, the answer is obvious. My reason for hope is anchored in the rationality of Man. In other words, I hope that…
My times are in Your hand; save me from the hand of my enemies, and from those who persecute me. Psalm 31:16 Times – Let’s think about time. What seems so obvious turns out to be much harder to conceptualize than we thought. What is this thing called “time”? As soon as we begin to…
More than 30 years ago, Wolfhart Pannenberg wrote the book that was translated into English as Jesus – God and Man. On page 230 of that work, Pannenberg makes a suggestion about the relationship between Jesus’ proclamation concerning the true nature of the creation and the end of this world age. It reads: . ….
Thy kingdom come Matthew 6:10 Come – We know that God’s Kingdom is not a physical place. The Greek word basileia is about reign and rule, not palaces and courtyards. God’s Kingdom is revealed wherever His servants and citizens live according to His government. But what does it mean to pray, “Your Kingdom come?” Hasn’t…
January 1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1 Beginning Again In The Beginning – Let’s begin by doing some mental stretching. You’ve had a nice vacation. You’ve had some rest. You have the day off. Now put your mind to work. Something deep is happening here. Something very deep. …
